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*°-n*v V 







THE SLAVE UUESTION. 



SPEECH 

HON. WM. H. BISSELL, OF ILLINOIS, 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, FEBRUARY 21, 1850, '; ^T^ 

In Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, on the Resolution referring the 
President' s Message to the appropriate Standing Committees. 



Mr. BISSELL said: 

Mr. Chairman: Our discussions in this Coin- 
miltee have ah-eady produced a profound and pain- 
ful sensation throughout the Union. The public 
mind has become agitated and anxious, and op- 
pressed with apprehensions of impending calamity. 
This state of things, sir, ought not to continue; 
or, at any rate, that uncertainty which makes the 
future more terrible than would perhaps the real- 
ization of our worst fears, ought to be removed. 
If tliis Government of ours is really so near its 
end as gentlemen here declare it to be; or if its 
longer continuance depends upon contingencies so 
uncertain, it were well that we knew it now, that 
we might make timely preparation. If, on the 
other hand, the apprehensions I have spoken of 
are groundless, the people ought, in mercy, to be 
undeceived. They ought to be undeceived at 
once, sir, in order that they may have that repose 
and conscious security to which they are entitled 
under a government created and sustained by their 
own hands. 

Reluctant as I am to add to the public anxiety, 
I yet do not feel at liberty to withhold the expres- 
sion of my own opinion upon the absorbing 
topic of this discussion, and of the day. And 
I do not hesitate to declare, as my settled convic- 
tion, that, unless representatives who have as- 
sumed to speak for the slaveholding States have 
greatly mistaken the purposes and intentions of 
the iieople of those States, war and bloodshed, con- 
sequent upon an attempt to overthrow this Gov- 
ernment, are inevitable. This declaration 1 desire 
should go forth to the country; and with it the 
reasons upon which my opinion is based. These 
reasons are found in the extracts which I shall 
quote, first, from the speech of the honorable 
gentleman from Mississippi, [Mr. Brown.] Here 
are the extracts: 

" Whilst you have been heapin;,' outrage upon outrage, add- 
ing insult to insult, our people have been calmly calculaiing 
the value of Uie Union. The question has been considered 
in all its bearings, and our minds are made up." 

" We owe it to you, to ourselves, to our common country, 
to the friends of freedom throughout the world, to warn you 
that we intend to submit no longer." 

"Lang years of outrage upon our feelings and disregard of 
our rights have awakened in every southern heart a feeling 
of stern resistance. Think what you will, say what you 
will, perpetrate again and again ifyou will, these acts of law- 
less tyranny ; the day and the hour is at hand when every 
southern son will rise in rebellion, when every tongue will 
say, give us justice or give us death." 

" Go home and tell your peoiile the issue is made up ; 
ttiey must now choose between non-interference with south- 
ern rights on the oneside, and adissolution of the Union on 
the other." 

" Ifyou fancy tliat our devoUon to the Union will keep us 



in the Union, jou are mistaken. Our love for the Union 
ceases wilh the justice of the Union. We cannot love op- 
presb^ion, nor ling tyranny to our bosoms." 

" 1 tell you candiiily, we have calculated the value of the 
Union. Your injustice has driven us to it. Your oppres- 
sion juj^tifies nie to-day in discussing the value of the IJnion, 
and t do so freely and fearlessly. Your press, your people, 
and your pulpit, may denounce this as treason; be it so. 
Yon may sing hosannas to the Union — it is well. British 
lords called it tieason in our fathers when they resisted 
British tyranny. British orators were eloquent in their eu- 
logiuins on the British Crown. Our fathers lelt the oppres- 
sion, they saw the hand that aimed tlie blow, and resolved 
to resist, 'f'he result is before the world. We will resist, 
and trust to God and our own stout hearts for the conse- 
quences." 

" The South afraid of dissolving the Union I — why should 
we fear i What is there to alarm us or awaken our ap- 
prehensions •■ Are we not able to maintain ourselves? 
Shall eiglit millions of freemen, with more than one hun- 
dred millions of annual exports, fear to lake their position 
among the nations of the earth .' With our cotton, sugar, 
rice, and tobacco, products of a southern soil, yielding us 
annually more than a hundred millions of dollars, need we 
fear the frowns of the world ? ' 

" Have we any reason to fear a dissolution of the Union.' 
Look at the question dispassionately, and answer to your- 
selves the important inquiry. Can anything be expected from 
tlie fears of the southern people .' Do not deceive yourselves 
— lookatthin.'sasthey really are. For myself, I can say with 
a clear conscience, we do not fear it ; we are not appalled 
at the prospect before us ; we deprecate disunion, but we do 
not fear it ; we know our position too well lor that." 

" Have we anything to fear from you in the event of disso- 
lution .' A little gasconade, and sometimes a threat or two." 

" As to there being any conflict of arms growing out of a 
dissolution, 1 have not thought it at all probable. You 
complain of your association with slaves in the Union. We 
propose to take them out of the Union— to dissolve the un- 
pleasantassociation. Will you seek a battle-field to renew, 
amid blood and carnage, this loathsome association .' I take 
it for granted that you will not. But ifyou should, we point 
you to the record of the past, and warn yon, by its blood- 
stained pages, that we shall be ready to meet you." 

These extracts from the speech of the gentle- 
man from Mississippi [Mr. Brown] are sufficient 
for our present purpose. 

The gentleman from North Carolina, [Mr. 
Clingman,] tells us " what is the vieio presented in 
prospect to many of the highest intellects of the South;" 
and it is substantially this: that as a separate Con- 
federacy the slaveholding States " might expend 
as much as the United States ever did in time of 
peace up to the beginning of Gen. Jackson's ad- 
ministration, and still have on hand twenty-five 
millions of dollars to devote to the making rail- 
roads, openicg harbors and rivers, and for other 
domestic purposes." The same gentleman has 
thus disposed, in advance, of some little matters 
pertaining to the interior regulations of the " south- 
ern confederacy" to be: "The nothern tier of 
counties in Kentucky," says he, " would perhaps 
be obliged to remove their slaves to the South. But 






there would be to her advantages in the change 
simil ir to those of Maryhuid. Kentucky supplies 
l)ie Souili with hve slock to n great extent; but 
she lias lo encounter the eompeiition of Ohio and 
other nortluvestern Stales. If the production of 
these Stales n-cre suhject to a duty, she niiijhl for a 
time have a monopoly in the trade." I doubt not, 1 
sir, that it will astonish the fieople of the :reat 
West and Norihwtsl to find iliai the fathers of the 
" S0H//uni confederacy" have disposed of the navi- [ 
gation of ihe Mississippi with such celerity, as } 
much as it will the people of Kentucky to learn I 
that their slaves are henceforih to be removed j 
South — insletid of J^'ortli. The same gentleman, 
[Mr. Clikhmak,] has divulged his plan for remov- 
ing — iliough not quite so gently — ail those in Ken- 
tucky and the oilier slaveholding Slates who hesi- 
tate about swearing allegiance to this "southern 
confederacy." He intimates that it will not take 
as long to hang them as it did ihe " Tories in the 
Revolution." I 

I think, Mr. Chairman, that I have now given 
extracts enough to justify the opinion 1 expressed 
at the outset of my remarks. We cannot fail to 
see that if the feelings, purposes, and intentions of 
llie people of the slave holding states are correctly 
represented in these speeches, our countrymen 
may well apprehend the most fearful calamities. 
The subject has been calmly considered in ail its 
aspects by the highest intellects of the South. It 
has been ascertained by calculation that if the 
southern States were separated from the north- 
ern, not only would they escape from " northern 
aggression" in future, but they would also derive 
a direct pecuniary advantage of $25,000,000 per 
annum. And though it does not appear that the 
amount of duty to be paid by I he people of the 
West and Northwest to the "southern confeder- 
acy," for the privilege of navigating the Missis- 
sippi river has yet been fixed, it nevertheless does 
appear that such a duty is to be exacted. I allude 
to these things, sir, to show the minute calculations 
that have been entered into in reference to the 
altered condition of things consequent upon the 
meditated dissolution of the Union. They show 
an advanced stage in the progress of this move- 
ment which, in my judgment, will astound the 
country. 

Now, sir, let us see if we can glean from these 
geDtlemcn's .speeches the shadowing forth of any 
plan by whifli this movement is to be commenced 
and rarri'd out. I first quote from the speech of 
the gentleman from Alabama, [Mr. Inge :] 

" Will lliP U<?|)ri:?i!mativi;>j of the North atlunipt, by the 
po-.v.riiriiuiiil.i!rM,tiioiiira;;ethcC(iii,slitutioiiaiid(le!.'r;id(nhe 
.South hy Ihc udiiiiH.-inn ol' this 'IVrritory [C.ililbrnia] as a 
8laH!. wilhoiit the oH'it of komic iMiiiivalint .' 1 suggest lo 
thciii l" rciiiKiiihcr that wc are ;<worii lo hiiipjiort tlii; Coiisiim- 
Uoii, ami couhl i^carctly sit in lame acqUK'sceiH'c and witness 
ilH ii|n'ii Hiid Hhsiiiii-riil violation. The iiueiiipted consumma- 
tion ol riieh uii a<'t would bu the overthrow of" the Consti- 
tiiUon whieli the piople wc reprehenl would resist ' lo the 
'»»t ixin-inily.' We are here as the Knpre.senlatives of the 

!■'■ . but iiri; our oblmntioii!* to Ihe Constitution and Ihe 

,::i 1. HH than lliosi; ol' oiher individual citizens, who, in 
111. .; Teipile lire the ]irojile1 We ii«siimc mldilionul obli- 
r<iiion\ when we come as KepreBi'iilatives ; but are we re- 
llevid Iroiii tho-e ivhieh rented upon us a« private cilizens.' 
My iiiilividuul upiiiion is, lliiit If tin; Koulhern people ought 
to ce-if-t a meaxiire of ai!);ressiiin, after its eonsiimniation, 
wi! here arc under llie «aiiie or a higher obligation to resist 
ill eonnuininalioii. 'I'lie-te sugce-tinns are innde, not in the 
uiilure ol threat or uienaei'. I do not iindi rnile the lirniiiess 
of llie North ; a.i a matter of di.-cn lion, it is alway.s proper 
to UMiume tliut your oiitugoniHt is linn, even if the fact be 



doubtful. But the course proper to be pursued in any and 
every event is for the detcniiinatioii of souUicrn members. 
I am willing to suggest, and if my course is not approved, 
to follow any path of honor which may be pointed out by 
those who an older and wiser. I trust thai we .shall stand 
together as one man, and present our breasts as the shield 
of the Constitution." 

This language, sir, scarcely admits of a doubt- 
ful construction. I understand it to mean this: 
That the gentleman considers himself and other 
southern Representatives as acting here in a 
double capacity, first, as representatives, in which 
character they are to resist the passage of an un- 
i constitutional law, (as, for instance, one admit- 
ting California in the Union,) in the manner and 
by the forms prescribed by the Conslitution and 
the rules of this House; secondly, as private citi- 
zens, in which characters they are bound to resist 
the passage of an aggressive law in the same way 
that private citizens may resist aggression upon 
their rights. I feel quite sure that 1 have not mis- 
taken the proper construction to be put upon the 
gentleman's language. But, as I have given the 
entire paragraph, let it speak for itself. What- 
ever doubts there may be as to the proper con- 
struction of that paragraph, there can be none, 
none at all, as to the one which 1 now quote from 
the speech of the gentleman from North Carolina, 
[Mr. Clingman,] already referred to : 

" But il is advised (says he) in certain portions of ihe 
northern press, that the members from that section ought 
lo e.\pel such as interrupt their j,roceedings. Let tiiemiry 
tlie e,\perimenl. I tell gentle i en thai this is our slave- 
holding Territory. We (lo not intend to leave it. If they 
think they can remove us, it is a proper case for trial In 
tlie present temper of the public mind, it is probable that a 
collision of the kind here might electrify the country, as did 
the little skirmish at Lexington the colonies in their then 
excited state. Such a struggle, whoever might prove the 
victors in it, would not leave a quorum here to do business. 
Genii men may call this treason, high treason — the highest 
tre son that the world ever saw. But their words are idle. 
We shall defeat their movement .against us." 

If this does not sufficiently show where and how 
the revolution is to commence, let us turn again to 
the speech of the gentlemm from Mississippi, 
[Mr. Brown,] and read another extract: 

" My own opinion is this : that we should resist the intro- 
duction of California as a State, and resist it successfully; 
resist it by our votes (irsl, and lastly by other means. IVe 
can, at least, force an adjournment without her admission. 
This being done, we are safe. The southern States, in con- 
vention ai Nashville, will devise means for vindicating their 
rights. I do not know what these means will be, but I know 
what ihey may be, and with propriety and safety. They 
may he lo cany slaves into all of sonihern California, as the 
propeity of sovereign Slates, and there hold them, as we 
have a right to do ; and, if molested, defend them, as is both 
our riL'ht and duty. 

" We a>k you to give us our rights by non-intervention; 
if you refuse,! am tor taluiigthem by armed occcpation." 

Resist the passage of a law admitting California 
first by votes, and lastly by ^' other means!'" Mr. 
Chairman, does the Constitution which we are 
sworn to support, or the rules of this House, 
point out to us any " other means" of resisting the 
enactment of a law, except by means of votes.' 
We can adjourn. But how adjourn without voting 
an adjournment.' " Force an adjournment," says 
the gentleman. And that force is the " other 
means" by which the admission of California is 
to be resisted, "nnrf resisted sncccssfuUy." And 
what next.' Why, the Mishville Convention is to 
meet. Then what.' '' Carry slaves into all of 
' southern California, as the property of sovereign 
' States, and there hold them, as we have a right 
' to do; and if molested, defend them, as is both 



'our right and duty." And thus is California to 
be ^^ taken" by " armed occupation." Alas for 
the 100,000 men already there, or on their way 
thither, from whom California is to be taken by 
force, and held by armed occupation, that slavery 
may be introduced there against their will ! 

I doubt not, Mr. Chairman, that by this time 
you and this committee are satisfied, as I am, that 
unless the intentions of the people of the slave- 
holding States have been mistaken by some of 
their Representatives here, a conflict of arms be- 
tween the Government of the United States and a 
portion of the citizens thereof is inevitable. 

But, sir, I have never permitted myself to doubt 
the patriotism of the American people. And I 
shall be slov/, especially, to distrust that quality 
in the people of the generous South. Left to their 
own unprejudiced judgment and their own sound 
reflections, I shall have no fear. I dare hardly 
answer, however, for the effect which the speeches, 
especially that of the gentleman from Mississippi, 
[Mr. Brown,] may have upon the minds of a 
gallant people, naturally ardent and impulsive. 
Indeed, sir, I shudder at the thought of the effect 
which passages like that which I shall now quote, 
may, I had almost said must, produce on the feel- 
ings of our southern brethren. Receiving it in 
good faith, as we are bound to suppose they will, 
as a faithful statement of the cruelties and enormi- 
ties about to be visited upon them by the hands of 
their northern brethren, it would be strange, in- 
deed, if they failed to be wrought up to the most in- 
tense degree of excitement and exasperation: 

"Our country is to he made desolate. We are to be driven 
from our homes— the homes hallowed by all the sacred as- 
sociations of family and friends. We are to be sent, like 
a people accursed of God, to wander through the land, home- 
less, houseless, and friendless ; or, what is ten thousand 
timKS worse than these, than all, remain in a country now 
prosperous and happy and see ourselves, our wives and 
children, degraded to asocial position with the black race. 
These, these are the frightful, terrible consequences you 
would entail upon us. Picture to yourselves Hungary, re- 
sisting the powers of Austria and Russia; and if Hungary, 
which had never tasted liberty, could make such stout re- 
sistance, what may you not anticipate from eight millions 
of southrons made desperate by your aggression." 

Do you know, Mr. Chairman, of any acts com- 
mitted or meditated by the North against the 
people of the slaveholding States, that can by any 
possibility justify such declarations as those I have 
quoted? I know of none, and I am sure the gen- 
tleman from Mississippi will find it very difficult 
to point them out to his constituents. It is easy, 
indeed, to deal in general charges against the 
North; and when requested to specify those 
charges, to say, as the honorable gentleman from 
Mississippi does, " I will not recount the story of 
our wrongs." But will such a course satisfy a 
people, patriotic, intelligent and inquiring .■• Future 
developments will show. 

And what, sir, are the causes assigned to justi- 
fy the act of dissolving this Union .' They are 
alleged aggressions by the non-slaveholding States 
upon the rights of the slaveholding, in respect to 
slavery. All the charges [lUt forth against the 
non-slaveholdin^ Slates have reference to that 
question solely; and they are all comprised and 
compendiously set forth in a single brief sentence 
which I here quote from the speech before refer- 
red to of the gentleman from North Carolina, 
[Mr. Clingman.] After referring at some length 



to the benefits and advantages of slavery, he 
says : 

" In spite, however, of these great facts, which ouaht to 
strike all imijarlial minds, the course of the North has been 
constantly aggressive on this question." 

Now, sir, on behalf of the North, I repel the 
charge. And I aflirm that, for anything the 
North has done to justify the overthrow of this 
Government, any attempt to do so, is naked trea- 
son. What, sir, the course of the free States 
been " constantly aggressive'' upon the South on 
the slavery question ? Let us see. Since the 
adoption of the Constitution seventeen States 
have been admitted into the Union. Of this num- 
ber, ri/?ie are slaveholding States, and eight non- 
slaveholding. Now, sir, it ha- so happened that 
at every time when anv of these slaveliolding 
States have applied fi>i admission, the North has 
had complete ascendancy in both branches of 
Congress, consequently the power to exclude any 
or all of them. They were all admitted, slave- 
h -Iding as they were, with just such constitutions 
as they had chosen to adopt for themselves. Is 
this a part of that " aggressive course" on the 
slavery question which the North has " constant- 
ly" pursued r 

" Again: Of the territory embraced within the 
seventeen States thus admitted, the free States 
comprise 33.3,259 square miles ; and the slave 
States 730,376 square miles. Thus we see that 
the extent of slave territory admitted into the 
Union since the adoption of the Constitution is 
considerably more than twice as great as that of 
the free territory. Does this look like a disposi- 
tion on the part of the free States to pursue a 
course of "constant aggression" towards the 
South on the subject of slavery .' 

Again: The annexation of Texas was a pecu- 
liarly southern measure. The necessity of its 
acquisition was distinctly placed by Mr. Calhoun 
— himself the embodiment of ultra southern prin- 
ciples, and the master-spirit of the then Adminis- 
tration — upon the wants of slavery. To the 
North the measure was distasteful. The North 
never desired, for its own sake, the acquisition of 
Texas; nevertheless, the South earnestly desiring 
it, and Mr. Calhoun's great influence being 
brought to bear in its favor, for the reason, chiefly, 
just given, the North generously acquiesced in 
the measure, though possessed of ample power to 
defeat it. Texas was acquired— and , at the cost of 
a sanguinary and expensive war, we took into the 
Union, at one swoop, an amount of slave territory 
equal in extent to theentire original thirteen States. 
Allthisthe non-slaveholdingStates might have pre- 
vented, but did not. Is this northern "aggression" 
upon the rights of the South on the slavery ques- 
tion t Is this one of the acts of "aggression" on 
that subject wnich is to justify gentlemen of the 
South in dissolving the Union? 

The power of Conaress to abolish the slave- 
trade and slavery at the arsenals, fotts and navy 
yards, and in this District, will hardly be ques- 
tioned by any of our southern friends. And yet, 
neither the one nor the other has been abolished 
to this day in any of those places. Even slave- 
dealers now drive their occupation in this District 
at pleasure. Could not the North, had she chosen 
so to do, have put an end to slavery and the slave- 
trade in all these places, long ere this.' She has 
forborne to do so. Is that forbearance any part of 



the "asgression" upon slavery which now justi- 
fies rplifllion nsra'i'^t 'he Union ? 

Now, sir, let us consider those minor charges, 
8» perlinrtciously urged against the free Stales, 
that make upihesum total of those "aggressions" 
whicii jusiil^y these gentlemen in dissolving the 
Union. What are these charges? Why, it is 
charged, first, that among the people of the free 
Stales there is a prevalent and increasing feeling 
adverse lo slavery. This statement, or charge if 
it be one, I cannot deny. But i am at a loss to 
conceive how that can he regarded as an " aggres- 
•ion" upon the South, or a jus:ification for the net 
of overthrowing this Government. Is it required 
of the free Slates that they, in aggregate, shall 
keep n supervision over the views and opinions of 
their individual citizens on political, moral or any 
other suhjects? Is not this a country of freedom 
of opinion ? And do not our southern friends, even, 
recognize the principle that " error of opinion may 
be safely tolerated where reason is left free to com- 
bat it.'" But are the people of the free Slates pe- 
culiar in their views on this subject.' Does not 
the " aggression'' come also from another quar- 
ter, and with ten-fold force .' How is the feeling 
in Kentucky where, at a recent election, more than 
ten thousand votes (as I am informed) were cast 
in favor of complete emancipation .' How is it in 
other northern slave Stales where Van Buren, 
even, at the last Presidential election, found warm 
supporters, and not a few votes? Now, gentlemen 
of the South, you cannot prevent these tilings — this 
feeling, or sentiment, or whatever else you may 
call it — even among the people of your own slave- 
holding Slates, can you ? Are you not asking loo 
much, then, when you require us of the North 
and West to suppress it among our people? We 
could not do so, if we would. And, if we had the 
power, our refusal to exercise it would by no 
means tend to justify the destruction of this Re- 
public. 

Again: It is made an accusation against the free 
States, that their ministers of the Gospel make 
slavery a sul ject of pulpit disquisition, thus in- 
creasing the hostility already existing against that 
institution. To some extent this may be the fact, 
Mr. Chairman; though I confess that, so far as my 
own knowledge extends, such instances are ex- 
ceedins^lv rare. But what then? Can we prevent 
that? Ought we to try? Why, on this point 
we have the authority of the gentleman from Mis- 
sissippi [.Mr. Brown-] himself, in favor of the 
praciice. You will recollect, sir, that after treating 
us to an argument of considerable length designed 
to show that the moral and ndigious condition of 
the negro is improved by his i)eing held in bond- 
age — ^^und after declaring that, in his opinion sla- 
very is "a great moral, social, political, and reli- 
' eiouH blc-ising — a blessing to the slave, and a 
' nlessing to the master;" he drops the sulqect by 
saying: " It is no part of my purpn.se to 'discu.'^s 
' this proposition. The subject, in this view of it, 
' belongs niiher lo the pulpit than to the halls of le- 
'gislaiion." Surely, sir, he will now complain no 
more of sermons on the subject of slavery: — and, 
when he comes to draft llie " declaration " for the 
"southern confederacy" — (! trust that has not 
already been done)— he will certainly not include 
this as one of the " causes which impel us to the 
scparntion. " 
But again : 1 1 is charged also against the free States, 



that we tolerate anti-slavery societies. Yes, sir, 
we tolerate anti-slavery societies, native American 
societies, temperance societies, moral reform socie- 
ties, missionary societies, sewing societies, and 
possibly — though I am not certain — other societies. 
Indeed, sir, we are tolerant towards all sorts of 
societies. We are so, because, first, we have no 
right to be intolerant in reference to such matters; 
and, secondly, because there is no necessity for 
meddling with them. We must hunt for other 
causes than this, sir, to justify a dissolution of this 
Union. 

Another charge against us is, that we permit 
men to perambulate the country, lecturing on abo- 
litionism; thus increasing the prejudice already 
existing against the institution of slavery. There 
j are such men, no doubt. My mind recurs to one 
just now — one who, in that way, has probably 
[ exercised more influence in the North than all the 
I other anti-slavery lecturers put together. This man 
I is Cassius M. Clay, a citizen of the slaveholding' 
State of Kentucky. When our southern friends 
I will agree to seal his mouth on that subject, or 
confine his efforts to abolish slavery, to the south- 
ern States where he belongs, it will be time enough 
for us of the North to set about devising some 
modeof confining itinerant lecturers, or prescribing 
subjects for the exercise of their eloquence. I 
might mention other lecturers of the same sort for 
whom the North is indebted to the slave States. 
But it is unnecessary. 

It is also made a matter of accusation against 
the free States, that anti-slavery presses are kept 
up there, and that the papers supplied by them are 
circulated throughout the northern States, and 
even into the southern; and this is one of the 
principal causes which render it necessary to es- 
tablish a " southern confederacy," which shall em- 
brace just exactly the fifteen slaveholding States 
and no more. We cannot deny, Mi"- Chairman, 
that such papers do circulate quite extensively in 
some portions of the free States, and some of them, 
probably, may be found even south of INlason 
and Dixon's line. I have a paper of that charac- 
ter on my desk now. Here it is, sir. [Holding 
it up.] It is a fair-looking paper, Mr. Chairman; 
and I observe that its articles are written with great 
power. But, I assure you, sir, it is fearfully se- 
vere on slavery. And it circulates extensively in 
the North, too; the number not being less, 1 am 
told, than fourteen thousand weekly; besides some 
thousands which find their way into the slavehold- 
ing Slates. Novv', I can imagine that you suppose 
this paper to be published in Vermont. You are 
mistaken, sir. It is not published there, nor in 
Ma.s'sachusetts, nor even north of Mason and 
Dixon's line. It is published on slave territory, 
sir; right here in sight of this Capitol, and almost 
within sound of my voice Right here, sir, upon 
the very spot from which the gentleman from 
North Carolina, [Mr. Clingman,] is not iroing to 
be driven, because it is Ins " slave territory." Yes, 
gentlemen of the South, from your own midst; 
from the very doors of your houses, surrounded 
by your slave population, do you send forth unti- 
slavery papers, in number more than fourteen 
thousand |iprweek, to deluge the North, and manu- 
facture public sentiment there. Then you make 
the circulation of these papers, and the prevalence 
of a sentiment which they cannot but engender, a 
pretext for overthrowing this Government. Si- 



lence your own Abolition presses; keep for your 
own use the fourteen thousand abolition papers 
which you weekly distribute among; the people of 
the North , and then claim , if you will, that the exist- 
ence of abolition presses in the free States, is jus- 
tification to you for dissolving the Union 

I remember, also, that there was another anti- 
slavery press in vigorous and very efleclive oper- 
ation for some time in Kentucky 

Mr. BROWN. We destroyed it. 

Mr. BISSELL. So you did, by violence. But, 
by your own laws and the decisions of your own 
courts, you were punished for it. You were com- 
pelled to make compensation in damages for your 
lawless act. Now, I ask our southern friends, in 
all good feeling, if they can justly urge as a reason 
for dissolving the Union annoyances consequent 
upon a state of things in the free States which they 
cannot prevent at their own doois? 

We are met by the gentleman from North Car- 
olina with another difficulty, for which he holds 
the North responsible. He suggests that the in- 
creasing anti-slavery sentiment in the North will 
prevent the President from appointing slavehold- ! 
ers to office. For the present let a single fact 
allay the gentleman's fears. The Presidency has 
been given to the slaveholding States during forty- 
eight of the last sixty years. And this, too, 
though the white population of the slaveholding j 
States has rarely, if at any time, exceeded one- | 
half that of the free States. Of the foreign mis- 
sions of all grades, more than a majority have been 
given to the South. Of the Cabinet appointments 
very nearly, if not quite half, have been given to 
the South. Of the officers in the army and navy ' 
it will be found that, considering the relative pop | 
ulation of the free and slaveholding States, at least ] 
three out of five have been given to the South, i 
How is it at this very moment, sir, while these very ! 
complaints of outrage, insults, tyranny, and loss' 
of office are being made.' Why, sir, the Pres- 
ident — a majority of the Cabinet — a majority of j 
our foreign ministers — a majority of the members 
of the Siupreme Court, and the presiding officer I 
and clerk of this House — are southern men and ^ 
slaveholders. Does not this satisfy the gentle- i 
man from North Carolina.' Surely he might, on i 
this subject, rest quite easy. Another difficulty [ 
gravely set forth in that gentleman \s speech I 
ought, perhaps, to notice with becoming serious- 
ness. 1 allude to the refusal of the New England 
spinster to take the southern gentleman's arm ! 
That was wrong, unquestionably. But then, 
these Yankee girls are very independent, and will 
do just as they please — as some of us have learned 
from very painful personal experience. But I do 
not think that a dissolution of the Union need to 
follow as a necessary consequence. It is a proper 
subject for negotiation. And, as the lady cannot 
fail to perceive by this time that she is in danger 
of becomms; a second Helen, she will doubtless be 
more yielding. 

Another charge against the free States is that of 
aiding fugitive slaves to make their escape. That 
we have vicious people as well as deluded people 
among us, we do not deny ; and that they have 
aided slaves to elude the pursuit of their owners, 
is, 1 regret to say, more than probuble. Such acts 
are not in consonance with the spirit of our Con- 
stitution, and they tend directly to destroy that 
good neighborhood among the people and the 



States of this Union, which every true-hearted 
American desires to cultivate. They are acts, 
against the commission and for the punishment of 
which the General Government ought to provide. 
I hope such provision will be made before the 
close of this session. It need not be expected, 
however, that any human laws, however rigidly 
enforced, will wholly remedy this evil. There 
are bad men in all communities — in the North as 
well as the South — and one unprincipled man, 
by enticing away or aiding the escape of a slave, 
may bring reproaches upon a whole State. I am 
confident, however, that the numberof such men in 
thefreeStates is very greatly overestimated by gen- 
tlemen from theSouth. They should rememlierthat 
it takes but very few men to occasion all the an- 
noyance they have suffered in this respect. They 
should remember, too, that these things are done 
secretly, and are by no means countenanced by 
the mass of the people. For my own part, I am 
ready to go any reasonable length to secure such 
legislation as will henceforth prevent, as far as 
possible, this grievance. I desire to see a law en- 
acted this present session, which shall secure to 
you, as far as practicable, your rights in this re- 
spect. The slaves are your own property; recog- 
nized as such by that Constitution, every line and 
every intendment of which I hold sacred. But 
let me ask gentlemen if they have not negro-steal- 
ers in their own States — if they have not every 
variety of unprincipled characters among them .' 
Neither they nor we can free our respective States 
from such men; and they should consider wheth- 
er, if things were reversed — they occupying our 
position and we theirs — they would be likely to 
keep themselves freer from just reproach than we 
have done. I am not so unmindful of truth as 
to deny that, in respect to the subject now under 
consideration, some of our southern friends have 
good cause to complain. But it must have been 
remarked by all of us that the Representatives 
from those States which have really been aggrieved 
in this respect are not those who have threatened 
us with disunion. These threats have come from 
the Representatives of States from which, I ven- 
ture to say, on an average not one slave escapes 
in five years. Who ever heard of a slave escaping 
from Mississippi or Alabama.' Where does he 
go to? Who helps him away? Certainly not 
the people of the North. Kentucky, Virginia, 
Maryland, and Missouri, the only States that are 
really sufferers by the escape of slaves, do not 
seem to have dreamed of dissolution as a remedy; 
while the Representatives from a few of the ex- 
treme southern States, whence slaves could no 
more escape than from the island of Cuba, see 
ample cause and imperious necessity for dissolving 
the Union and establishing a " southern confeder- 
acy," in the alleged fact that their slaves are en- 
ticed away by the citizens of the North. 

I believe there remains now but a single other 
" charge against the North" for me to examine; 
and that brings me to the subject more imme- 
diately under consideration in this committee — 
the California question. The proceeding which 
has resulted in bringing California to the door of 
the Union — is cha'^racterized by the honorable 
gentleman from Mississippi, " as unwise, unpatri- 
•^otic, sectional in its tendencies, insulting to the 
' South, and in the last degree despicable." "It 
' is," says that gentleman, " in derogation of the 



6 



' Constitution of the United States, and intended 
• to roll the Sovllifrn States of their just and right- 
' fill jidsscssions. " 

It IS- also objected tlint these proceedings are 
likely to introduce into the other House of Con- 
gress two " Free Soil Senators" which will destroy 
the ecjuilibrium now existing there between the 
North and the South, by giving to the Free States 
the majority- Well now, sir, what are the pro- 
ceedint;s complained of, and for which the Union 
is to be dissolved and the North held responsible ? 
The President, himself a southern man and a slave- 
holder, with a Cabinet, a majority of whom are 
southern men and slave-holders, send Thomas 
Butler Kin?, a soutliern man and a slaveholder, 
to ''aid and comfort," encourage and advise 
the gold diggeis in tlieii efforts to join the sister- 
hood of Slates. Mr. King returns, bringing as 
trophies two southern men — one a Mississippian 
and the other a South Carolinian — (and both 
slaveholders, I believe) whom our southern Pres- 
ident dtsires to introduce into the Senate of the 
United States as members of that body. And, 
thereupon, our southern friends declare that if this 
infamous measure of "northern asgression" is 
carried out the Union shall be dissolved and the 
North held responsible! But what, I pray, has 
the North had to do with all this? Where can 
you discover the slightest traces of a northern man's 
finger in the whole matter? Nay, sir, who are 
they in Congress who are understood to have dis- 
tinctly (hclared tliemselves in favor of the admis- 
sion of California since the reception of the mes- 
sage on that subject? Who but Clay, Houston, 
Benton of the Senate, and Bay, of this House — all 
slaveholders? 

And this California proceeding fills the measure 
of northern " aggression," and makes it impera- 
tive upon " every southern son to rise in rebel- 
lion," and excKiim to the North " give us liljerty 
or give us death!" Mr. Chairman, how is it 
that this matter is expected never to be understood 
by the people of the South ? Surely their Repre- 
sentatives do not intend to deceive them — they 
could not hope to do so on a subject so plain and 
palpable. 

Now, sir, having disposed of the charges of 
"northern aggression," of which we have heard 
80 much since the meeting of Congress, 1 appeal to 
gentlemen to say whether there is anything in 
them, taken separately or in the aggregate, which i 
in the slightest degree justifies their threats against | 
the Union ? I appeal to them also, to say, whether 
the overthrow of this Government and the estab- 
lishment of a "soulhern confederacy" would 
miti'.'aie in any degree the evils they complain of. 
Would ami-slavery societies go down; would anti- 
slavery presses cease their issues; would lecturers 
give up their occupation; would Mrs. Partington 
withhold her su^e opinions on the morality of 
slavery; and would slaves escape no more from 
the norihern slaveholding States? No, gentle- 
men, every real grievance thai now exists would 
then be n^jgravated in a tenfold degree. 1 am at 
a lofiH to conceive how on this point there can be 
any diversity of opitiion. 

SecinL', llien, that all these complaints are either 
wholly trroundles.s, or exceedingly trivial when 
conHidcnil in the li^ht of causes justifying a dis- 
Boliition of the Union, I am constrained to believe, 
and 1 80 declare us the firm conviction of my own 



! mind, that if this slavery question were settled to- 
, day upon terms entirely unobjectionable to the 
[South, the scheme of dismembering the Union 
i would still be prosecuted as now. 

Sir, I feel no little remorse for the wrong I did 
j to an eminent citizen last summer. The distin- 
t guished Senator from Missouri, Col. Benton, dis- 
tinctly and boldly declared to the people of that 
State, that there was a small but active party in the 
extreme South — at the head of wliich was an emi- 
; nent statesman, alike distinguished for his great 
genius and his restless ambition — who were seek- 
[ ing a dismemberment of the Union in order to the 
establishment of a separate "southern confeder- 
acy." For that I denounced Col. Benton in my 
State, and to my constituents. May God forgive 
me for the wrong I did him. / was wrong — he 
was right. Yes, sir ; with that party, small but 
active and influential, this .slavery agitation is but 
a mode of effecting the destruction of this Union. 
; It furnishes a convenient pretext and a powerful 
'< lever. But, be assured, sir, had they not in the 
slavery question a plausible pretext for carrying 
forward their designs, they would hunt for such a 
pretext elsewhere — or invent one. The people. 
howevei, alike patriotic and vigilant, will defeat 
their designs ; and in due time they will visit with 
just retribution those who have sought to mislead 
them. 

But do these gentlemen see no difficulties in the 
way? I know that, so far as the free States are 
concerned, they have only to fear " a little gascon- 
ade aad a few threats" — for they have told us so. 
But is there nothing to be apprehended from the 
patriotism and firmness of the people of the slave 
States themselves? How about all those who may 
choose to hesitate in the States of Maryland, Del- 
aware, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Mis- 
souri, Texas, and Tennessee? Tliey are to be 
hanged — hanged at once, as we learn from the gen- 
tleman from North Carolina, [Mr. Clivgman.] 
Now, sir, when the gentleman ]iroceeds to that 
operation in Kentucky, the hemp-growers of that 
State will have no occasion to desire a contract for 
furnishing the Navy with hemp — for they will not 
be able to supply the demand for home consump- 
tion. Truly, that day on which all the people of 
the slave States who are opposed to disunion shall 
be hanged in the air, and among them Ci.ay, Un- 
DicRwooD, Benton, Houston, Badger, and others 
of equal distinction — that day, sir, will be one to 
be remembered ! Gentlemen tell us again and 
again, that they are not afipalled at all this — that 
nothing need be expected from the fears of "south- 
rons." And the gentleman from North Carolina, 
especially, seems exceedingly anxious to impress 
us with a proper appreciation of the prowes.s of 
hinuself and liis friends. This is all unnecessary. 
We have never impugned their bravery, and wever 
doubted it. We do not doubt it now. They un- 
questionably possess that quality to an equal extent 
with other men. But their constant disparage- 
ment of the personal courage of the people of the 
free Slates, can certainly not be expected to height- 
en our opinion of their own. VVe may come to 
think, bye and bye, that they have fallen into two 
errors — the one the error of underrating the cour- 
age of others; and the other I need not particu- 
larize. 

The gentleman from North Carolina, speaking 
for himself and his friends, says: "1 tell gentle- 



* men that this is our slaveholding territory. We 
' do not intend to leave it. If they thinlc they can 
' remove us, it is a proper case for trial;" and he 
delights in the prospect that such a contest would 
not leave a quorum of live members on this floor. 
The gentleman must excuse us for declining the in- 
vitation to so delightful an entertainment. We 
have no doubt that he and his friends would de- 
fend with great resolution this " slaveholding ter- 
ritory." I wish this particular spot of " slave- 
holding territory" had been always thus defended. 
1 think the Capitol stands now where it did in 
1814, does it not, Mr. Chairman .' Yes sir; in the 
same place. 

Do you not remember to have read that, in 
August of that year the British, after spending 
something like a month on the waters of the 
Chesapeake, quietly landed a handful (4,500) of 
sailors and soldiers — enervated by the effects of a 
long sea voyage — some forty miles from this 
place? And do you not remember that, dragging 
by hand three pieces of artillery, two of them 
three pounders, they made their way over this 
very "slaveholding territory" to this very Cap- 
itol; and, having destroyed our lilirary and pub- 
lic archives, and reduced the Capitol to a heap of 
smouldering ruins: spending nine days the while 
on this " slaveholding territory," leisurely reem- 
barked for other scenes of operation .' Now I do 
not charge, sir, that our friends then were want- 
ing in bravery. Not at all. I think, indeed, they 
were as brave then as now. But somehow or 
other I could never help but think that on that oc- 
casion they were — rather bashful. 

The gentleman from Mississippi, [Mr. Brown,] 
who thinks that the resistance of the free States to 
the overthrow of our Government, would be con- 
fined to " a little gasconade and a few threats," is 
nevertheless kind and considerate enough to give 
us some advice to be acted upon in the event of 
our not choosing to confine our resistance to a dis- 
solution of the Union within so small a compass. 
Hearken, Mr. Chairman, to this voice of wisdom: 

" When you leave your liomes in New England, or in the 
great West, nii iliis uiifsion of love — this crusade against 
the South ; when you eonie to take slavery to your bosoms, 
and to subdue eight millions of southiTn people, I warn you 
to make all things ready. Kiss your wives, hid your chil- 
dren a long farewell, make peace with your God ; fori warn 
you that you may never return." 

The profound-emotion with which this sage ad- 
monition was received by the bachelors in this 
part of the Hall, must have satisfied the gentle- 
man, I think, that due heed will be given it. He 
also admonishes us more than twice, or thrice of 
the enormous population now comprised within the 
slaveholding States. He sets itdosvii at eight mil- 
lions of freemen. Now the last census, if I am 
not mistaken, shows the number to have been four 
millions and six or seven hundred thousand; and 
by none of the ordinary modes of calculation can 
that number now exceed six millions. If the in- 
crease has really been so great as the gentleman 
would have us believe, it may be set down as a 
circumstance, the like of which has never been 
known in any age or country: and the gentleman 
may justly claim that his constituents are as emi- 
nently distinguished for another quality as for 
prowess. But this is a small matter, sir; and I 
merely refer to it as an illustration of the prone- 
ness of our southern friends to exaggerate all their 
capabilities. 



This proneness, however, is not always harm- 
less; and I must now refer to a subject which I 
would gladly have avoided. I allude to the claim 
put forth for a southern regiment, by the gentle- 
man from Virgmia, [Mr. Seddon,j of having met 
and repulsed the enemy on the field of Buena 
Vista, at that most critical moment when the sec- 
ond Indiana regiment, through an unfortunate 
order of their colonel, gave way. Justice to the 
living, as well as to those who fell on that occa- 
sion, demand of me a prompt correction of this 
most erroneous statement. And I affirm distinctly, 
sir, and such is the fact, that at the time the second 
Indiana regiment gave way, the Mississippi regi- 
ment, for whom this claim is thus gratuitously set 
up, was not within a mile and a half of the scene 
of action; nor had it as yet fired a gun, or drawn 
a trigger. I affirm further, sir, that the troops 
which at that time met and resisted the enemy, 
and thus, to use the gentleman's own language, 
"snatched victory from the jaws of defeat," were 
the second Kentucky, the second Illinois, and a 
portion of the first Illinois regiments. It gives me 
no pleasure, sir, to be compelled to allude to this 
subject, nor can I perceive the necessity or pro- 
priety of its introduction into this debate. It hav- 
ing been introduced, however, I could not sit in 
siience and witness the infliction of such cruel in- 
justice upon men, living and dead, whose well- 
earned fame I were a monster not to protect. The 
true and brave hearts of too many of them, alas, 
have already mingled with the soil of a foreign 
country; but their claims upon the justice of their 
countrymen can never cease, nor can my obliga- 
tions to them be ever forgotten or disregarded. 
No, sir. The voice of Hardin — that voice which 
has so often been heard in this hall as mine now is, 
though far more eloquently — the voice of Hardin, 
aye, and of McKee, and the accomplished Clay 
— each wrapped now in his bloody shroud — their 
voices would reproach me from the grave, had I 
failed in this act of justice to them and the others 
who fought and fell by my side. 

You will suspect me, Mr. Chairman, of having 
warm feelings on this subject. So I have; and I 
have given them utterance, as a matter of duty. In 
all this, however, I by no meansdetractfrom thegal- 
lant conduct and bearing of the Mississippi regiment. 
At other times and places on that bloody field, they 
did all that their warmest admirers could have de- 
sired. But let me ask again, why was this sub- 
ject introduced into this debate.' Why does the 
gentleman say, "the troops of the North" gave 
way, when he means only a single regiment.' 
Why is all this but for the purpose of disparaging 
the North for the benefit of the South? Why, but 
for the purpose of furnishing materials for that 
ceaseless, never-ending, eternal theme of "south- 
ern chivalry?" 

Mr. Chairman, the people of the free States 
have as strong an attachment for their brethren of 
the South at this very moment as they had during 
the days of the Revolution, or at any subsequent 
period; and they will not suffer that attachment to 
be destroyed by disunionists or designing men in 
the North or in the South. We have our dis- 
unionists in the North, sir, and they annoy us 
not a little. Were your troublesome men in the 
North, they would be the Garrisons, the Tappans, 
and the Gerritt Smiths; and were our Garrisons, 
and Tappans, and Gerritt Smiths in the South, 



8 



they would be the disuiiionisls aKninst wliom the 
moderate men of nil parties would Imve to Kuard. 
I tell yoii, sir, that we, the representatives of the 
North, will aid you to preserve your constitutional 
rigiits, as we have ever done. VVe are not alien- 
ated from you; nor have your ultra men yet driven 
us entirely " to the wall." We are ready to meet 
you now on any (air grounds and fiijlit with you 
side by side t'or your rights and for ours; and de- 
fend those rights under the Constitution froiri en- 
croachment in any quarter. But, sir, we want to 
hear no more aijoul disunion. We are attached 
to the Union — aye, devotedly are we attaciied to it. 
We regaid it as the ark of safety for the American 

f)eople. We know that the realization of the 
lope.s for Imman freedom throughout the world 
depends upon its perpetuity. And shall we ruth- 
lessly crush these hopes forever? Shall that bea- 
conlight which our fathers raised to cheer and 
guide the friends of freedom be extinguished by 



ua ? Extinguish it if you will, but know that 
when you do it the world is enshrouded in dark- 
ness more frightful than Egyptian night. 

1 know the people of my Stale. 1 know the peo- 
pleof the Great West and Northwest; and I know 
their devotion to the American Union. And I 
feel warranted in saying in my jilace here, that 
when you talk to them of destroying this Union, 
there is not a man throughout that vast region 
wiio will not raise his hand and swear by the 
Eternal God, as I now do, it shall never be done, 
if our arms can save it. Illinois proffered to the 
country nine regiments to aid in the vindication 
of her rights in the war with Mexico. And 
should danger threaten the Union from any 
source, or in any quarter, in the North or in the 
South, she will be ready to furnish twice, thrice, 
yes, four times that number, to march where that 
danger may be, to return when it is passed, or 
return no more. 



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